Cowardice and impotence. Guess who? None other than King David.

2 Samuel 13 - Here's the situation. David had two sons (among many others) Amnon and Absalom. The two were only half-brothers. Amnon was David's eldest son. Absalom had a full sister named Tamar.

Apparently Tamar was incredibly beautiful. She was a single virgin. Her half-brother, Amnon, grew in his affection for her. Over time, he began lusting after her and he wanted her more and more. Eventually, with the help of a friend, Amnon coerced Tamar into his bedroom and he raped her. Then, having raped her, he refused to marry her as the Law required.

Well this understandably tweaked Tamar's full brother Absalom. And 2 Samuel 13:21 says that it also upset the King. "When King David heard of all these things, he was very angry." But that's it. Nothing. Amnon went on doing his thing. Tamar was forced to live in desolation (v. 20) in Absalom's house. David did nothing. As the King of Israel, he did nothing. As the father of the family, he did nothing.

The result will be even more disastrous. Absalom is going to kill Amnon. Then Absalom is going to manipulate the kingdom from his father and anoint himself king over Israel. Then Absalom is going to try to kill King David! Bad, right?

For the reader of Samuel, this is very surprising. The David we have seen thus far has been a man of valor and courage. He would not tolerate a fearsome giant mocking God's people, so he slew him with a rock. He circumcised one hundred of his enemies to pay the bride-price for his wife. He killed the man who killed his enemy (that is, King Saul) because he said that Saul was the Lord's anointed one.

And suddenly, in his house, in his own family, a brother violates, rapes, and puts out his sister, shames her and ruins her life, and King David does nothing. Nothing! What in the world happened to David?

This is all happening in 2 Samuel 13. Did you look it up? Check out the preceding two chapters. 2 Samuel 11-12 is the horrible story of David seeing, lusting after, and sleeping with Bathsheba. Then he covers it up, tries to deceive, and ultimately murders her husband Uriah. He is confronted and punished in chapter 12. And in chapter 13, the great, mighty, and courageous King David is morally impotent.

How can he confront sin when he just committed such debauchery? How can he rebuke his son when he did far worse? You see? You see what sin does? Fathers, you see what sin does? Husbands? Friends? It destroys you in every way.

Wake up! Your life is not just about you. Your sin is not just about you. You live in a network of relationships. Your sin destroys and affects everyone in that network, that community. Most importantly, it leaves you impotent to be Christ to your loved ones when they need it most.

Are you standing at the edge of a great precipice? Are you strolling around on the roof of the palace, ready to at any minute to spot a naked beauty bathing in the sun? Close your eyes and run! "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death." (Prov. 14:12) Don't take that road. Look to Christ and live!

2 Samuel 9:11
          So Mephibosheth ate at David's table, like one of the king's sons.

Not many know the story of Mephibosheth. He was the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, David's predecessor and former enemy. So he was the grandson of Saul.

When God disposed of Saul from the throne of Israel (by death), Jonathan his son also died. David soon after became king (check out 2 Samuel 2 for the story of a king between Saul and David almost entirely forgotten about). David remember that earlier in life, he had made a covenant with Jonathan. When David became king, he promised to love, help, and do good to Jonathan and his family. But now that he's king, Jonathan and his household are dead.

There was a servant of Saul's, Ziba, who was still alive. So David asked Ziba to find out if there was anyone left of Jonathan's family. Ziba told the king that there was one son remaining; the rest had been killed. The son of Jonathan was named Mephibosheth.

He was only a young boy (perhaps a baby even) when Saul and Jonathan had died. When his nurse heard what had happened, she grabbed the young boy and started to run away with him to keep him safe. She knew that people would be after the boy to kill him (and she was right).

Tragically though, as she was running away with the baby in her arms, she tripped and fell. The child was damaged for life. Both legs were broken by the fall, and Mephibosheth would be a cripple for the rest of his life.

Now think about this: Mephibosheth was the last remaining survivor of the king. The throne would have past to him, had not God taken it away. Furthermore, he's a cripple. And no cripple should ever be in the great and glorious presence of the king. And above all of that, he was the grandson of David's arch-enemy. Truly, Mephibosheth was the enemy of King David who, by every strand of earthly reasoning, should have been executed.

But! 2 Samuel 9:11. Far from being executed, King David graciously provided for Mephibosheth, set him up with an array of servants, provided for his entire family, and even opened up his kingly table to this crippled enemy. So for the rest of his days, "Mephibosheth ate at David's table, like one of the king's sons." The table was the deepest and most intimate place of fellowship. And the king took this cripple and treated him as his own son.

That text melted my heart. I am Mephibosheth. I am the crippled enemy of God's anointed King, Jesus, who by every strand of earthly reasoning deserves immediate execution. I have no claim to one ounce of goodness from the King. And yet, in an infinite condescension, the King has taken me in and granted me daily intimate fellowship with the King. He has taken me in, not just as an enemy, but rather as an adopted son. I EAT EVERY MEAL AT THE KING'S TABLE!

How could you not serve and love and kiss this King? (Psalm 2) There is no grace like the grace of King Jesus, opening his eternal table to all his enemies who would repent and believe on Him for righteousness.

I don't remember when it started and how long I've practiced it, but at some point I made it my custom to read straight through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. When I finish with Revelation, I start back at Genesis 1 and go at it again.

I don't think it's really that big of a deal. I'm not interested in trying to get people to do what I do. But from time to time, I have encouraged people to try this same model of Scripture Reading. I think it has four advantages:

1. Scripture is organized deliberately, not accidentally. Granted, much of that order is created by man (for instance, the Hebrew Canon of the Old Testament ends with Chronicles instead of Malachi) but it is still deliberate nonetheless.
2. Aside from a chronological Read the Bible in a Year program (which is very confusing and jumps all around) this is I think a good way to keep in mind the unfolding story of God's revelation.
3. It enables you to see certain things that you would miss otherwise (I'll get back to that).
4. And perhaps the best reason is that you don't need to remember what day you're on, which book you were reading, which books you haven't read, you just stick your Bible ribbon in the place you stopped, and you open up there the very next day. Easy-peesey.

The third reason is what made me think today about all of this. In my cycle of reading, I was in 2 Samuel 4-5 today. As I read 2 Samuel 5:3, I was reminded of the first time I seriously read straight through the Bible. On that day, when I read 2 Samuel 5:3, for the first time in the Bible, David is finally called the king. "So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron."

There is a joy to following the struggles of David, God's anointed king, as he battles with the one who would be king (Saul) but who God has rejected. And FINALLY, he is king!

Anyway, just some food for thought.